A Perry County man charged with borrowing $105,000 to attend Harrisburg Area Community College and then using the money for motorcycles, drugs and tattoos instead has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges.

U.S. Courthouse in HarrisburgMatt Miller, The Patriot-News

According to U.S. Middle District Court records filed Monday, Robert Thomas Price Jr. of Newport pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Susan E. Schwab to the accusations that he misused his student loans.

In an indictment issued in September, federal investigators charged Price with diverting the roughly $92,000 in private student loans and $13,000 in federal PELL grants and Stafford loans he received to buy crack cocaine, bikes, cars, jewelry, tattoos and video games.

The amount Price borrowed far exceeded the cost of attending HACC.

Authorities said Price's ex-wife, a former HACC employee who was not identified or indicted in the case, aided the scam.

No sentencing date has been set for Price. When he was indicted, prosecutors said the charges he faced carried a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Featured Story

Get 'Today's Front Page' in your inbox

This newsletter is sent every morning at 6 a.m. and includes the morning's top stories, a full list of obituaries, links to comics and puzzles and the most recent news, sports and entertainment headlines.

optionalCheck here if you do not want to receive additional email offers and information.See our privacy policy

Thank you for signing up for 'Today's Front Page'

To view and subscribe to any of our other newsletters, please click here.